How I Grasped the Concept of Needing Mentors via Ulysses S Grant

Tonight I had to help my son write a research paper for his Senior English Class. This was heavily involved with research because I barely knew anything about Ulysses S Grant. My son has been struggling in this class so me and my wife tag teamed. She took our daughters, Annalise 7th grade, research paper and I took our sons. This led to some pretty cool discoveries that are just interesting. I gained a real perspective from it to.

First, I didn’t write the paper. I coached. I am published in major magazines and that skill was developed over years of writing. My daughter seems to have a lot of those interest and I am going to help her develop that. At the same time, my son doesn’t want or have interest in anything to do with writing anything, ever again. I love that about him. He is not afraid to just be him. He loves Social Media and Music so that is his area of expertise and I will work on fostering that as much as possible.

Study Success to Be Successful

Ulysses S Grant served two terms as president after accepting General Robert E. Lee’s surrender. Little beyond that is really positive in his entire life. Basically he grew up and his dad didn’t think much of him. So his dad shipped him to West Point Military Academy. Then he courted his wife after getting out of West Point. His wife was the sister of his room mate.

He then went to the Mexican War. This is where he studied a couple of generals while in war with them. Studying successful people set him up to be remembered forever. Lucky for him because nothing else would stand out as remarkable for him except his victory in the Civil War. That victory turned him into a Hero. He rode that public opinion to the white house.

While a president he was riddled with scandals and “negative press.” Nothing that was actually his doing but his entire administration it seemed took money, bribes, or plotted to be corrupt. Black Friday, the American gold market bottomed out, was from his sister’s husband plotting with two other people. They convinced him to make a bad hire in the treasury department.

Choose Your Mentors Wisely and Seek Wisdom

Where am I going with all this?

All of the scandals and blemish’s on one of our countries greatest war heroes could all have been avoided. He didn’t ask anyone for advice when choosing his cabinet or administration. Instead he picked people that he felt were trustworthy and he could delegate to. This choice cost him severely. He was associated (never named as a party) with a ton of scandals and corruption. Most of it came after he was out of office.

When he retired and was traveling the country he again didn’t take advice. He parked all of his assets with his son, Buck. Buck’s firm had two partners. Buck and some other slime ball. Guess what. Grant woke up broke. The slime ball scammed and lost all of the firms money, including Grant.

Seeking Wisdom in All Things – Experts Are Worth It

Grant had to find a way to make money. He turned to writing and learned he loved it. He decided to write memoirs about his life. A magazine he had written for previously loved the idea and said they would publish it. He had advice from another person not to take the magazines deal.

Finally Grant Listens to Wisdom and It Pays Off Big!

Grant found out he had throat cancer. This took his voice so he spent his final days on his porch with pencil and paper writing his memoirs. He told others that he wanted to leave his family an inheritance. He couldn’t stand the fact that he had lost everything. He finished his memoirs just before he died.

Wisdom and Advice Matters

The cool thing about the Grant story is the final advice we talked about. He didn’t sell his memoirs to a magazine because someone told him not to. That someone was Mark Twain. Twain took the memoirs and made Grant’s family a fortune with them.

That one piece of advice was the difference in success and just minimal profits.

It is that same way in business. We pride ourselves in helping businesses find their ideal clients. Find engagement in their audiences. Create their audiences. Build a program that automatically produces more of exactly what you want. All this is only available if the clients we serve listen and take the advice.

This is probably the same in your business…

You can’t help someone that is not listening to your direction. I have had so many problems when I take on clients that want to lead. Luckily later in life I have learned to tell them that no, I have to lead and this is what we are doing. Sometimes that means firing clients.

Look to serve your clients and customers at the highest level! Look for ways to gain advice on your business from the highest level as well.

If you want business advice feel free to contact me. I work with a select group of clients on their marketing. We have fun and make money. We serve their customers because I serve them.

Will Robins

Husband and Father, Will focuses on family first under God.If you are searching for an engaged audience, the kind we all dream of, then you have found the right website. Will uses a personality with amazing salesmanship in his teaching.He focuses on how successful websites have grown their viewers and engagement.